Making leather



ROBERT DowNEr, or New ALBANY, INDmNA.

MAKING LEATHER# Specification of Letters Patent No. 3,632, `dated June1,5, 184.4.

To all fr/tom t may concern Be it known that I, ROBERT DowNEY, vof thecity of New Albany, county of Floyd, and State of Indiana, havediscovered and invented a new and Improved Mode of Tanning Leather by`Means of a Flagellator; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull and eXact description.

The na-ture of myinvention consists in iagellating or whipping the hideson the flesh side during and while in the first stages of being tanned.After ten or fifteen days the hides may occasionally be flagellated onthe grained side a little. For this purpose I use a machine called aflagellator, which will be more fully described in the followingspecifications and drawings which form a part of said specifications.

l/Vhen the hides are taken from the bate after dressing them out on thebeam, they `should be immersed in weak bark liquor,

and its strength increased from day to day until the leather isperfected.

Believing that one of the effects 0f the bark in the ordinary mode oftanning is to close the pores of the hide and thus prevent that completesaturation with the bark liquor, which contains the tannin and on whichthe perfection of leather depends in order to obviate this objection Ipropose to use the above named machine which strikes about twenty-fivehundred strokes in a minute and which raises and thickens the hide andso opens the pores that at the same time the gelatin and gluten areoozing out the bark liquor is driven in wit-h the machine and the hideis made ready for the reception of another saturation and may be placedeither in the lrevolving or a stationary handler, until again saturated,which may be known by the closing of the pores, and then the hide may betaken out and the same process of whipping and immersing may be gonethrough again and again until the hide is struck through with thetannin, which is done in less than half the time of the ordinary mode oftanning and about half' the usual quantity of bark only is required.Instead of rotting or steaming out the gelatin and gluten this processdrives it out mechanically and the membraneous part of the hide remainsfirmer and stronger as the result will show. When the hide is fullystruck through nothing remains but to lay it away in bark and renew itat short intervals say from ten to fifteen days always observing toincrease the Strength of the bark liquor as you progress.

I will now more minutely describe this valuable machine. First itconsists of a. frame at letters A, sixteen feet long and eight feet wideelevated by legs at letters, B, which are framed in and measuring 18inches from the ground or floor to the top at letter, C, and it has letin at one end of said frame a cylinder at letter, D. This cylinder is 8feet long by 2 feet in diameter and has two rows of cogs or slides atletter, E. See Fig. 2.

lThey are spirally arranged so as to equalize inch wide. They are 1liinches in thickness throughout. The slats are fastened at letter H, bystraight steel springs `2() inches long to a cross timber at H. Saidcross timber is fastened to the first frame between two upright posts atH, just behind said cylinders, then directly over the aforesaidstra-ight springs is the same number of curved springs fastened to across timber at letter I. These are for the purpose of strengthening thefirst set. The cylinder when properly rigged has at letter J, a loosepulley to ship and unship the band and at letter, K, a tight pulley tomove the cylinder, and put the machine in motion. At letter, L, is apair of'bevel `wheels connecting the cylinder with `a sha-ft letter M,near which is a cam, that works in a frame letter, N, and gives asee sawmotion to the carriage at letter, O. The said carriage is a second frameand lies across the lirst on rollers at, O. This carriage is l0 feetlong by 8 feet wide and may be shipped and unshipped at pleasure by thehandles at letter, P. Across this, frame there is stretched strong hemp,3 inch, webbing (such as is used by saddlers) from O, to Q, with a webbrace. On this frame or carriagethe hide is spread with the flesh sideup. It is then' shoved under the slats at, P, while the operator putshis foot on the lever at letter, R. Said lever is connected in thecenter with a. little frame at letter, S. The fulcrum on which the leverrests lies just behind the frame letter N, by Which the slats areelevated. As soon as the hide is laid on the braced webbing on thecarriage between O and Q he removes his foot from the lever and theslats are let down. He then slips his band from the loose pulley, I, tothe tight pulley, K, and starts his horse and all is in motion and oneminutes ilagellation is suficient for a hide. The posts at letter, T,are for to hold the shaft M, which Works the cam in the frame N whichmoves the carria'ge back andV forth from Orto Q, S0 asto give the hide aregular flagellation. When hides are to be tanned in this Way, they arefirst taken through the ordinary modes of preparation. When they areWorked out of ROBERT DOVVNEY. Witnesses i JNO. B. WINSTANDLEY, ,1 WVM.JAS. NEWKIRK.

